NFL Power Rankings - Week 15: No hope for Arizona Cardinals?

32. (30) Arizona Cardinals: This is what nine straight bumbling losses get you – a trip straight to the bottom. There are three games left – home dates with Detroit and Chicago followed by a trip to San Francisco – and the Cardinals aren’t capable of winning a single one of them. Yes, that would be 12 straight losses to end the season. You want to see ugly? Just wait and see how bad things could get.

31. (31) Jacksonville Jaguars: These guys get their playoff game this week because it’s state rival Miami on the schedule. Yeah, like well be watching that one. Pass the cheese wiz, please.

30. (32) Oakland Raiders: Yeah, I had to move them out of Bobby Mac’s basement because the Cardinals now occupy the cellar. This week, the Raiders play the Chiefs in what might be the worst game on the entire schedule.

29. (29) Kansas City Chiefs: They’ll be in the market for a quarterback after the season and I’m just waiting for them to beat the Cardinals to the punch and find the right one. I’m pretty much convinced Arizona doesn’t know the first thing about quarterbacks.

28. (28) Tennessee Titans: Had a 13-point lead on the Colts and lost it, falling late in another Andrew Luck comeback rally. But they’d probably beat the Cardinals. Yeah, I just said that.

27. (23) Detroit Lions: Detroit seems to have suffered through the worst agonizing losses of any team in the NFL. That changes this week because they get the Cardinals. Yes, I’m picking Detroit. Why wouldn’t you?

26. (21) New Orleans Saints: The Saints must spend the entire offseason trying to find a way to bolster one of the worst defenses in the league. Oh, and what’s wrong with Drew Brees lately? I wonder if he’s hurt because he doesn’t seem to have the same touch on his passes.

25. (20) Buffalo Bills: The Bills welcome back Marshawn Lynch, who will run Buffalo wild right over them. By the way, I’ve visited the Anchor Bar in Buffalo, home to the original buffalo wing joint. Wings were outstanding. The Bills are not.

24. (27) Philadelphia Eagles: Snapped an eight-game skid and what do you know, this week they didn’t fire a coach. If you want to, you can catch the Eagles play Thursday night against the Bengals.

23. (19) Miami Dolphins: They’re starting to wear down a little and that’s OK. The Dolphins were a lot better this season than most of us probably thought they’d be. They’ll beat the Jaguars on Sunday to move to 6-8, which is more wins than the Cardinals will end up with, I’m certain.

22. (26) Carolina Panthers: I wrote last week they might put up a decent effort against the Falcons. They did and they won. Now it’s the Chargers up next and guess which team just happens to be ranked next up the list?

21. (25) San Diego Chargers: Earn a nice little four-step climb after beating the Steelers. Now make me look good and beat the Panthers this week at home or else.

20. (24) New York Jets: I don’t know about you, but I have better things to do than watch the Jets and the Titans on Monday night. Wait, it’s football. It’s the NFL. What am I talking about? OK, so I’ll watch.

19. (22) Cleveland Browns: The Brownies are now 5-8. The Brownies! I don’t think they’ll beat the Redskins if RG# is able to play, but bully for the Browns. They have more wins than the Cardinals, who started 4-0.

18. (15) Tampa Bay Buccaneers: That’s three losses in a row by a team that was hot, hot, hot. But like I keep saying, they can’t hang with the real good teams yet. They won’t be able to beat a bad Saints team this week, either. It’s in New Orleans.

17. (18) St. Louis Rams: Snuck out a win at Buffalo, which I suspected, and I actually like their chances this week at home against the Vikings. They’ll have to contain Adrian Peterson and Sam Bradford is going to have to avoid Minnesota’s pass rush, though.

16. (17) Dallas Cowboys: Showed great resolve in the win over Cincinnati despite a team tragedy. Now they get the Steelers and I’m calling for a Cowboys’ victory. It’s a critical game for both teams, but I’ll take Dallas at home.

15. (13) Pittsburgh Steelers: Man, that was just sad to see against the Chargers. Pittsburgh looked old and out of sorts. Yeah, Big Ben was maybe rushing things in his return, but the rest of the team didn’t look very good, either. Now they are 7-6 and in a dogfight for an AFC wild card berth. This week, they get the 7-6 Cowboys. I’m picking the Cowboys.

14. (12) Cincinnati Bengals: The Bengals can’t afford any missteps from here on out if they hope to sneak into the playoffs. Beat the Eagles on Thursday night, which should happen, and hopes remain alive.

13. (16) Minnesota Vikings: Look, they probably aren’t as good as the Steelers or the Bengals but I’m moving these guys ahead of both of those clubs simply because of Adrian Peterson. I hope he gets to 2,000 rushing yards this season. Talk about an epic year and an epic comeback story.

12. (14) Washington Redskins: Give the Redskins a two-spot jump for dumping the Ravens in overtime. Let’s just hope Robert Griffin III gets back on the field soon after suffering a right knee strain on a play that started to remind me of Joe Theismann’s leg against Lawrence Taylor. RG3 is lucky.

11. (9) Chicago Bears: Still looking OK for an NFC wild card berth, but things are dicey for Chicago. Jay Cutler’s neck is a question, the defense is starting to look a little shaky, and this week they have to play the Packers. Bears lose, Bears lose, Bears lose.

10. (10) New York Giants: I thought they’d lose to the Saints, but I was dead wrong. They destroyed New Orleans. This week, it’s the Falcons and I’ll step out on the ledge and say New York gets the win.

9. (10) Seattle Seahawks: Seattle cracks my Top 10 finally and deservingly so after the way they annihilated the Cardinals, 58-0. The Seahawks have a long trip this week to Buffalo, but they should come out on top if they just play their game.

8. (8) Indianapolis Colts: If they can find a way to beat the Texans and move to 10-4, they actually have a chance to win the AFC South away from Houston. Who would have ever thought that to be possible? I had the Colts going 8-8 solely because I believed in Andrew Luck and some of the other parts the Colts still had. Now, we’ve got to think big.

7. (6) Baltimore Ravens: They drop a spot after losing in overtime to the Redskins. They might lose to the Broncos this week, too, but probably not with having home-field advantage.

6. (7) San Francisco 49ers: Moving them up a spot because of Baltimore’s loss and San Francisco’s win over Miami. But let’s see how tough the 49ers are on the road when they have to travel to the Patriots. It’s a great offense against a great defense. I’ve got to side with New England.

5. (2) Atlanta Falcons. It’s very possible the Falcons could lose their second in a row this week. They get the Giants after being stunned by the Panthers.

4. (1) Houston Texans: Drop three spots after that supposed vaunted defense failed to even remotely stop the Patriots on Monday night. Yeah, a three-spot demotion sounds about right. They should take care of the visiting Colts, but you just never know.

3. (3) Denver Broncos: It’s true, I pushed two teams I had ranked behind the Broncos ahead of Denver this week, but I don’t think you can argue too much. Besides, I’ve been giving the Broncos a lot of love all season. They have a big test this week at Baltimore, though.

2. (5) Green Bay Packers: There is still room for improvement, and injuries remain somewhat of a concern, but the Packers are my pick to represent the NFC in the Super Bowl and I think they’ll get there. Want to know who I think they’ll face in the big game? Click the arrow.

1. (4) New England Patriots: I’ll be honest, I never thought the Falcons or the Texans were ever really the best team in the league, but their records made it hard for me not to rank them in the top two for so long. I’ve told you that. That being said, I also told you the Patriots would beat the Texans and they did, so they move to the front of the class, where I also told you they’d reach the Super Bowl. Here they come. Oh, and Tom Brady has joined the MVP race, too.

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